every month, and items need to be with Rosanne the Monday of that week. (please note new address)

Transcription

1 Welcome to the Sanderstead Team Newsletter! This is your newsletter, so do send us your news and anything you would like us all to know. The newsletter will continue to be published for the first Sunday of every month, and items need to be with Rosanne the Monday of that week. (please note new address) Martin writes And a Happy New Year to All! Thank you Now that we are back with you in Sanderstead, we appreciate very much your warm love and affection. It really does encourage us. We are grateful to all who work so hard to make sure that All Saints church not only survives but thrives! Some work behind the scenes in ways that are not seen; we need you and what you contribute. Others put themselves forward as helpers in our outreach activities; the Lord rewards those who serve with a humble heart. Thank you too for those who provide leadership as we extend God s welcome to those around e.g. among children & families, the elderly. You know who you are. Thank you to you all. Looking ahead in 2018 Whether you had a hectic or a quiet Christmas, I hope it was peaceful and enjoyable; and I wish you a Happy New Year. Of course, that depends on what we mean by Happy! In the bible, to be happy (or blessed ) is to live life as God shows us. So, my prayer is that as God shows us His way, we shall follow in faith. As we look ahead to 2018, let s push on with our vision and plans to take the transforming gospel of Jesus to more people. St Paul spoke of forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward to what lies ahead. We need to do the same as we learn to set gospel priorities and focus on what God is calling us to do. Let s pray, as in the Lord s Prayer, that: Your name be hallowed Your kingdom come Your will be done, on earth Transforming lives by the gospel of Jesus In the Church Mission Society prayer calendar recently, there was a request to pray for a church pastor in Zaragoza in Spain. Noel Diaz writes of an incident which encouraged him: This was amazing, a call from God to continue his work, proclaiming the grace and salvation of Jesus for his people. I learned that people have the desire to know God but they have few opportunities because they have no-one to guide them, to preach to them or show them the way. I feel I have rediscovered my vocation and my call as an ordained minister in the church. How amazing is that? Incidentally, following my return to work after the sabbatical, that is how I also feel about my ministry here in Sanderstead. Let s pray and work so that this year many people will come to know God as we show them the way. Amen! Over the autumn months, Rev Jeremy helped us to focus on Transformation and encouraged us all to work it out in practice. We need to keep on with this, and be transformed by the renewal of our thinking (Romans 12:2). Don t we want above all to help others, children and adults alike, to be converted and put their trust in Jesus Christ? 1

2 Parish Weekend in March On 21st January, we look forward to welcoming (Rev) Peter and Davina Irwin Clark to preach at 8.30 and 10am. I have invited them to be our speakers at our Churches Weekend Away at Ashburnham, March. Their visit on 21 January will give us all the chance to get to know them, as they whet our appetite for what I pray will be a wonderful weekend. Peter did come to speak at Sanderstead Bible Week in August, so some of you know him already. By the way, there are still places available on the weekend. Not yet signed up? Speak with Rev Jeremy, who will be glad to include you. Delights of Paris As you know, as part of my sabbatical, Emma and I enjoyed four weeks in Versailles at St Mark s Church, with lots of opportunities to experience the delights of Paris. Of the many photos which Emma took, here are just a few Arc de Triomphe Luxembourg Gardens Marc Chagall gallery, Nice Marie-Antoinette's village in Versailles Palace gardens Yours sincerely, in the fellowship of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Martin 2

3 Fresh Encounters Happy New Year from the Fresh Encounters team. Thank you for your interest in Fresh Encounters following the article in December s newsletter. Here are our plans for In Exodus chapter 3 God introduces himself to Moses as I AM. God speaks to Moses from a burning bush and Moses asks; Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you. We shall be exploring this story at Fresh Encounters on 25th February and then over the next few months we shall investigate some of the I AM sayings of Jesus, such as, The Light of the World, The Good Shepherd, The Way the Truth and the Life. With our usual mixture of readings from scripture and from poetry, a varied selection of music and visuals, and guided meditation leading to times of silence, we hope to facilitate a fresh encounter with God and with the truth of our faith. We hope you will want to join us. Looking ahead, the date of the March Fresh Encounters is 18th March. As we did in 2016, the Fresh Encounters team will be leading a thought provoking presentation on Good Friday, 30th March from 12 noon. We hope you will want to be there for that too. Please speak to Elaine, Angela or Penny if you would like to have a speaking part. And a reminder of the Fresh Encounters dates until Summer 2018: 6pm - 25 February; 18 March; 22 April; 20 May; 17 June; 15 July Penny Bird 3

4 Spread the love.. Beryl's home group spread a bit of Christmas love in Elmfield Way for their outreach project. Libby was impressed by All Saints, Warlingham, who always hand out Hot Cross Buns at Easter in Warlingham Green; so she came up with the idea of handing out heart-shaped cookies for Christmas. She found a delicious orange cookie recipe, and Libby, Anne Newsome, Indrani and I all baked 25 cookies each. (Actually I baked about 50 in order to get 25 perfectly shaped hearts). We wrapped our cookies in red napkins and sealed them with a sticker with the text God so loved the world... and a picture of Christ in the manger. We placed the cookies in baskets, and armed with one hundred Churches together in Sanderstead Christmas leaflets, Indrani, Libby and I headed from Beryl's down to the shops in Elmfield Way. Outside the shops we greeted all and sundry, and offered them a cookie and a leaflet. It wasn't too difficult, most people were pleased to receive a cookie though some were not interested. A couple of postmen went off munching, and the butcher took 4 for his staff to enjoy later. The leaflets allowed us to explain that we were from All Saints, and to encourage people to enjoy celebrating Christmas in one of our churches. We were able to answer questions about Christingle and the Family Fun afternoon, and before long we had handed out over 80 cookies and leaflets. Ralph came along to photograph the three of us with our baskets, and Maureen arrived just in time when the cold was getting through to us to give us a lift back to Beryl's for very welcome coffee and mince pies. I took the last few cookies up to the All Saints' stall on the Rec for the turning on of the Sanderstead Christmas lights, and they soon all disappeared, passing on the message of love at Christmas. All Saints Green Team RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS CARDS for the WOODLAND TRUST A plea from All Saints Green Team Please remember to take your old Christmas cards to a Sainsbury s or M&S store in January. They have containers collecting all the old used cards and this in turn helps the Woodland Trust. If you are unable to get to the shops, a box is being left in the church hall foyer and also at the back of the main door in church for your convenience. Thank you. Ann Turner 4

5 Joy and the T Rex Funniest Caption Competition The caption competition in the December monthly newsletter (see below) drew several amusing entries. One entrant found inspiration in Joy Gadsby s impressive turn of speed on her mobility scooter and suggested Catch me if you can. I m faster than you. Another came up with Spot the dinosaur, which mined the same seam as Joy s own suggestion of 90 or 90 million which one s which? The judging panel particularly liked the witty Oh boy meals on wheels! However in a close contest the winner was David Chillman s punning entry which had Joy saying to the T Rex I ve heard it s Jurassic Pork for lunch. I ll race you there! So a bottle of wine for David and thanks to all the participants for their high standard entries. I ve heard it s Jurassic Pork for lunch. I ll race you there! And many congratulations to Joy who celebrates her 90th birthday in the first week of January. May she long continue to be an inspiration to us all! Mother s Union Reverse Advent Calendar for Croydon Refugee Centre We are all familiar with a traditional Advent Calendar and opening a door or window in a design that gives us a reward of a chocolate or sweet to count down to Christmas Day. This year Sanderstead Mothers Union discovered a reverse Advent calendar. We each created an Advent calendar box where you put something into it every day instead of taking something out: items such as toiletries, hats, scarves, gloves, children books and more for the refugees in Croydon. Paul James supplied us with a list of items that the refugee centre needed and our response was amazing as the photo illustrates. It was fun to do but more importantly it focussed our minds on the needs of refugees who are some of the most vulnerable in our local community. Our gifts were delivered to the Croydon Refugee Centre in time for Christmas and hopefully brought a little joy to someone. A big thank you to all who got behind this initiative. Rosemary Kempsell 5

6 St. Mary s CAMEO Come And Meet Each Other Thursday 18th January, 2.30pm 4.00pm In the Jubilee St. Mary s All are welcome We meet once a month on the third Thursday, 2.30pm 4pm. We provide a place where people who are lonely can come and enjoy friendship and fun. We offer tea and cakes and a huge welcome. Whether you want to sit and chat or get involved in a game such as Scrabble, Bingo, skittles or cards, Cameo is a place to come and meet new friends. Next few CAMEO dates: 15 th February, 15 th March, 19 th April, 17 th May, 21 st June Christmas Day Lunch at All Saints The Christmas Day Lunch went very well thanks to all the support and help we received, especially from the Worthingtons, the Linfords, Glynis Martin & Cathy Sidhom on the day. Beforehand, donations in kind and money and help setting up in the Hall and laying the tables was much appreciated, and Jane Cooke provided some lovely table decorations. On the day we were surprised and pleased that all 34 of us (there were no absentees) were able to sit down for a super lunch together which I can safely say was much enjoyed by everyone. We ourselves had a wonderful day and so did our helpers and we hope the lunch will continue to be an annual event on the Church s calendar for the future. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to a great day for all. Sue & David Chillman. 6

7 All Saints Installing Screens and removing North Aisle pews an update We are now consulting with the major church heritage organisations (English Heritage, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the Victorian Society and the Church Buildings Council) about our proposals for installing screens and removing the remaining North Aisle pews. The next stage will be to consult the Southwark Diocesan Advisory Committee before submitting the formal application for a faculty from the Chancellor for the Diocese of Southwark. All being well this should take place in Spring The two Crib Services on Christmas Eve and the special children s service on Thursday 14 December showed the benefits of having mobile TV monitors in church and also the practical difficulties associated with having fixed pews in the North Aisle as this limits the flexible space available for children s events and also leads to problems accessing the lady Chapel and St Catherine s Aisle areas for parents with buggies. These issues are being highlighted in our faculty application consultation. Richard Bird Giving to our Mission partners As is our practice at this time of year we give 5% of income to our Mission partners. This year the DCC approved the distribution of 7,000 thus: Chris and Alison Hawksbee 2,000 towards their ministry in Paraguay, South Asian Concern (Sugandh) 1,000, USPG 1,000, Tanzanian Development Fund 1,000, CMS 1,000, Croydon Churches Floating Shelter 500, and Reedham Children s Trust 500. All are most grateful and their letters are displayed on the notice board in the church porch for you all to read. Further donations have been made supporting Sanderstead Neighbourhood Care, Croydon Refugee Centre, Victims of Hurricane Irma in Barbuda, The Rohinga people from Myanmar fleeing Bangladesh, victims of Drought and Famine across Africa and The Children's Society. Michael Turner Gifts given at Christmas services Thank you to all for your generous gifts of money at our Christmas services. We have been able to pass to The Garwood Foundation and to Croydon Nightwatch. Both charities were selected because they are local and give assistance to the young and needy. The Garwood Foundation s Rutherford School (Registered Charity No: ) work with parents and caregivers to provide excellent learning opportunities for students with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Nightwatch (Registered Charity No: ) volunteers are out every evening in the centre of Croydon giving food and other help to homeless and other vulnerable people, and can be found at 9.30 pm in the Queen s Gardens, by Fell Road. The core activity is providing direct support for homeless people and others in need. They help people at every level of homelessness. More details about both charities can be found on the internet. Michael Turner, Hon Treasurer 7

8 Around and About Sanderstead, and beyond Sanderstead URC January events: Sanderstead Literary Society: Wed Jan 10 th 8pm: SURC Main Hall The Wonderful Men and Women Ferry Pilots of WWII: Illustrated talk by Clare Walker Sanderstead Literary Society: Wed Jan 24 th 8pm: SURC Main Hall Tsars and Commissars Aspects of St. Petersburg: Illustrated talk by Paul Whittle All Saints Church Hall 10am 12pm on alternative Fridays 3 entry. Members can stay for lunch for an extra 2 Our programme includes talks, slide shows, music. Friday 19th January Friday 2nd February Friday 16th February Friday 2nd March Friday 16th March PURLEY CLASSICS JANUARY RECITAL David Zucchi Saxophone and Mateuz Rettner Piano David is a Canadian saxophonist and a recent graduate of the Royal College of Music Artist Diploma programme. Previously he studied at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music and graduated with one of their top prizes. He has appeared recently at the Cadogan Hall, St John s Smith Square, Royal Festival Hall and National Portrait Gallery and performs across the UK, Europe and Canada. Mateuz Rettner will accompany David on the piano and together they will play works by Debussy, Gershwin and Robert Planel. Wednesday 10 th January 2018, 1.15pm to 2.00pm The Lounge, Purley United Reformed Church, Brighton Road Purley Open to all with a retiring collection to cover costs Light refreshments served before the start 8

9 Licc London Institute for Contemporary Christianity 'The book of Proverbs reminds us that God has not left us alone to steer through life as best we can'. Join us for our upcoming Bible Day 'Wisdom that Works'. Diocese of Southwark - Conference on spiritual and pastoral care in mental health Mental Health Matters It could be you Breaking stigma, creating space to talk about mental well-being and supporting each other in our congregations and beyond Saturday 13 January, 10.30am 3pm At St Hugh s Church, Crosby Row, Bermondsey SE1 4PH Lunch meal is provided - contact Marlene.Collins@southwark.anglican.org or telephone

10 Some more dates for your diary. Sanderstead Dramatic Club's Red Riding Hood, 6th 13th January 2018 This year's pantomime is Red Riding Hood and the SDC has again kindly donated vouchers for tickets for the 7.30pm performances on Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th January 2018 at All Saints Church Hall. The money raised through the sale of these vouchers ( 8 adults, 7 seniors, 5 for children 14 and under) will go to the Children s Society. Please ring Jenny Aarons, ( ) for a chance to enjoy this production and support the Society s outstanding work with disadvantaged children. And if you have a Children's Society box or would like one, do come along to our annual box opening and coffee morning with bring & buy stall at All Saints' Church Hall on Saturday 27th January from 10am 12 noon. Rachel Warren Chadd Church Weekend Away at Ashburnham Place 23rd 25 March 2018 Plans are well advanced for our Weekend Away. We are happy to collect your final balances as soon as you are able. To remind you, the cost is 130 per person for an en-suite room 100 for a standard room and 50 for children aged 5-17 BACS payments to Sanderstead All Saints PCC, Sort code: , A/C No: or by cheque made payable to: Sanderstead All Saints PCC. Please add this Ref. to your payment: CWA18surname (Church Weekend Away 2018) e.g. CWA18smith Thank you, Michael Turner 10

11 Family Fun Hour Sunday 14th January 3-4pm in All Saints Church Hall For parents, carers & children Craft, Bible story, play activities, refreshments, singing If you want to know more, contact Emma, Judith or Sue via the church office on 11

12 What else? Please look at the website for regular Sunday services: WHEN? WHERE? WHAT? Fri 12th Jan, 10am 12pm Coffee Pot, All welcome for coffee, cakes and company. All Saints CHURCH (not hall) Sun 14th Jan, 3-4pm Family Fun All Saints Church Hall Fri 26th Jan, 10am 12pm Coffee Pot, All welcome for coffee, cakes and company. All Saints Church Hall Sanderstead Neighbourhood Care are having a Book Sale Saturday 10 Feb 11am - 1pm All Saints small hall Rector s diary for January Mon 8 Tues 9 Wed 10 Thurs 11 Sat 13 Sun 14 Tues 16 Weds 17 Sun 21 Mon 22 Sat 27 Sun 28 Tues 30 Wed 31 Housegroup party Ministry Team and S/Light planning DCC School of the Spirit planning St Augustine s Mission Project Team Sunday Services and Baptism of Elisabetta Zanelli Service at Langley Oaks Chapter Epiphany lunch Rev Peter Irwin-Clark to preach. Commissioning of Prayer Ministers at 10am. 4pm Churches Together Unity Service Housegroup Family gathering in N Ferriby, East Yorks [Church Prayer mtg goes ahead at 9am] Sunday Services Birthday! Safeguarding Training Course. Jeremy & Sandra will be away on leave from Sat 20th for 10 days. This newsletter is produced by Rosanne, Rector s Admin Assistant, Send your news and diary dates to admin@sanderstead-parish.org.uk 12